GlaxoSmithKline wants a more diversified, robust business. Given the pressures in its pharma business, that may not generate much excitement in the near term.

GlaxoSmithKline is peddling an alternative picture of the pharmaceutical industry’s future. But investors will have to wait for the rewards.

Glaxo wants a more durable, diversified business, rather than relying on the boom and bust of pipeline success. Last year’s deal to buy Novartis’s vaccines business and create a consumer-health joint venture helped Glaxo get bigger in areas offering steadier long-term growth.